Baby Wars!
by HarvestBoys
Summary: Luke and Chase are about to end up raising a child together... how? Well... you just have to read to find out! Warning: Yaoi!
1. Follow the yellow brick road

_**Hi, everyone! This's Nicole, from Harvest Boys. This is a collaborative account, so my best friend Kat and I are going to both be writing different stories-we'll say who's who. We work seperatly on different stories, but we often help each other and basically come up with ideas for one another to use. We were curious what a LukexChase would be like, so we're giving it a shot. Hope you enjoy!**_

_**Warning: Yaoi!**_

_**Oh, and I don't own Natsume or the chatacters, only the plot line and an OC or two later on!**_

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Chase is gunna kill me. . . .

I stared at the door to the Wizard's house, a bit uncomfortable now that it was finally happening. What happened to my positive attitude from before, that helped me get all the way to Harmonica Town! Why do I have to be so pessimistic now. . . ?

I wanted to raise a child, right!

Hesitating only a few seconds longer, I knocked on the door. It was then I realized my hand was shaking. Nerves? I waited patiently for the wizard to show up.

"How may I help you. . .?" I watched as the wizard waited patiently for my request, his expression devoid of any emotion.

"Y-you see, Wizard. . . I'm. . . g-g-gay. ... and, uh. . . I KIND OF NEED TO GET A GUY PREGNANT!"I stuttered in my embarrassment, my face heating up instantly. Wizard just watched me for a moment before stating, very calmly, "You should calm down before Gill mistakes you for his lunch. . ."

My eyes widened as I turned to see a dazed-looking blonde staring at the back of my head in an almost hungry way. Not even pausing to think, I rushed past Wizard into the house; he gave me a slightly surprised look.

"Is something wrong. . .?" he asked. Embarrassed once again, I hesitated before saying, "Uh. . . I'll be more comfortable talking INSIDE here. . . if that's okay with you," I added quickly. This guy was my only chance at getting a child, so I was afraid to. . . upset him, in the least. He just nodded and walked over to a table, watching me.

"So. . . what you want is to get someone pregnant?" he asked. I nodded, wondering what Wizard was getting at. After a moment, the faintest hint of a smile crossed Wizard's face.

"I can see how. . . desperate you are to get a child. . . and I don't blame you, seeing how Chase's reluctant to adopt. . ." Wizard said. My eyes widened in shock; how'd he know I was with Chase. . .? Then I remembered that he was supposed to be magical, and he might have read my mind or something.

"Yeah, I don't know why, he won't tell me. . . can't you do anything? Like a . . . potion?" I offered. Wizard hesitated, going over to his bookshelf and searching through a book.

"Hm. . . well, I can make a fertility potion. It works on all mammals. . . if I just change this. . . it may be possible," Wizard concluded. I brightened, even though I know Chase WOULD kill me if I went through with this. But I could still trick him. . ..

"Thank you," I said politely. Wizard nodded.

I was ecstatic as I watched Wizard begin to take out various ingredients and set up a pot to create the potion in. _It's finally happening! Will it work? How long will it take? What would happen. . ._

_Will Chase get hurt by this? Isn't this supposed to be painful? What if something goes wrong and the potion gets mixed up and Chase gets in a lot of pain and–_

"It shouldn't hurt him too much..." Wizard murmured as he continued making the potion. It was then I realized I started talking aloud, my face flushing with embarrassment.

I started waiting impatiently for Wizard to finish the potion, but it only took a few moments longer after I thought aloud by mistake. He poured the potion into a small test tube before screwing the top on and giving it to me. I stared at the swirling potion; it was light pink with tiny sparkles glittering in the depths. _Definitely for having a baby...!_

"Why's it pink?" I asked. Wizard smiled a little as he drained the rest of the potion, after filling another test tube as a backup.

"It's because the gender will be either female or male." and as I watched, the potion slowly changed from light pink to pale powder blue.

"Heh. Thanks soo much for this! Uh... is there anything else before I go?" I added hesitantly. Wizard nodded, so I stayed where I was, waiting impatiently.

"Let me warn you this; the pink state can only yield a girl, while the blue state only yields a boy. Once you mix the potion in with a drink, it'll be in that state. Be careful when you pour it in the drink you'll give Chase," he warned. Nodding, I, very carefully, put the tube into my rucksack and opened the door.

"Thanks again," I added, leaving. I thought I heard him chuckle and wish me luck before he closed the door as I walked away.

The boat was docked, Pascal waiting eagerly for everyone to come back. I saw Gill again, along with a few other Waffle people getting on. As I got on the boat and sat down on a bench, I felt his gaze boring into the back of my head. I started squirming uneasily, remembering Wizard's earlier warning.

Soon I forgot the threat of being attacked by the mayor's son, staring out into space as the boat sailed ahead, heading to Waffle Island. Where Chase waited, unsuspecting of everything. He didn't even know I went to Harmonica Town, and would probably never forgive me... or at least, wouldn't forgive me for a few weeks. Maybe once we have the kid everything would be better...

I watched the water rush past the boat with mild interest, still half-lost in thought. I just _couldn't _wait to have a child! It'd be a true miracle. ... I remembered Wizard saying something about pink equaling girl and blue equaling boy. I definitely wanted a boy, so I'd _know_ how to raise him. I know next to nothing about what girls liked– that's why I'm gay, not bi.

_Gill's still staring at me. What's wrong! He's not... he's not gay or bi, is he? _I turned to watch him from the corner of my eye warily. He looked... hungry? _What's happening? Is he... cannibal! No... that couldn't be– could it?_

The boat slowed; I hadn't realized it, but almost half an hour had passed while I'd been thinking. So I stood, and, remembering how Chase would be heading to Sundae Inn right about now– I'd convinced him to only work from six to nine, so we could have a dinner together- I rushed down from the boat, taking the route that lead to Caramel River.

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Well, hoped you like it! Review if you want, just don't be mean- this is my first ever shared story.

**_There'll be a one-shot coming up soon from Kat. I don't know the name, but you can expect a few one-shots from her._**

**_See you next time!_**


	2. To the bed!

**_Hi, again! Here's the second chapter to Baby Wars! Oh, and be sure to read the one-shot of how this all began from Kat, called Precious._**

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_**The house Chase and I live in is his house in Maple Lake District. We thought it was for the best to live there, seeing that if Chase moved in with my old man and I we'd have no privacy to ... um... what was it that dad used to call it when Mom was alive...? Oh, yeah, "Talking." Besides, it would be pointless to waste a perfectly good house by building a new one, too.

I stopped at the front door to the house, taking the spare key from my pocket and unlocking the door. I walked in and, deciding to deal with the food first, I went to the phone, calling up the Sundae Inn.

"Hello?" I heard Colleen's voice as the phone picked up. I didn't mind her much; I didn't blame her for being the mother to _Maya_, I just felt sorry she had to deal with her. So my feelings towards her were neutral.

"Hey. Um, I wanna have some food sent here." I said hesitantly. I already had the wine stored away, but there was no way I could cook the meal without possibly burning the house down.

"Sure, Luke. What do you want?" Colleen asked. It relieved me she didn't ask any questions, but just went along with it. Everyone in Waffle Island knew Chase and I were a couple.

"Well... I wanna make a feast. So... one of everything on the menu, please," I said. Then, remembering that Chase is there, I added, "Oh! And don't let Chasey know, too!"

Colleen laughed suggestively before agreeing and saying, "I'll have it sent over in about an hour," before she hung up.

Once I put down the phone on the receiver, I opened the cabinet and took out the bottle of red wine. Smiling, I took out the two wine glasses and set them down on the table at the chairs facing one another. I poured the wine and put it carefully back in the cabinet.

Once I was done with that, I searched in my rucksack until I found the potion. It was just changing to the swirling pink shade. Watching as it went from blue to purple to finally pink, I realized the pink would mix in better with the red wine. Plus, I was feeling too lazy to find out how long it would take for the potion color's to change.

And so, I unscrewed the cap and poured the glittery pink potion into the red wine that was meant for Chase. As I began to stir it, not sure what to do, smoke began rising from the wine. I screamed in shock and jumped away, the spoon clattering onto the table as the wine became clouded in black smoke.

_Oh my Goddess, did I mess up! Is it gunna catch on fire like last time I cooked...? _I thought frantically, then relaxed when the smoke cleared out. I hesitantly looked in the wine glass; the wine was as red as ever. Except... except I could see it sparkling. _Is that the potion?_

I jumped when there was a loud knock on the front door, startling me out of my thoughts. I walked over to the door and opened it, startled by what I found. To my amazement, the she-devil stood in the doorway, glaring daggers at me; _Maya..._

"What're _you _doing here?" I immediately demanded; I hated Maya with a burning passion. She was just soo irritating! She acted way too childish. There was so many times I've wanted to just slap her for acting so... argh!

"Why are you here!" I repeated out of my anger. Still glaring at me, she held out a package that I immediately recognized that was from the Sundae Inn. _It must be the feast. Already?_

"_Here, _Luke." Maya's voice was clipped and cool. She obviously hated me as much as I hated her. Not that I cared. I took the package from her and set it behind me on the table, waiting impatiently for her to walk away. But she didn't; instead, the childish idiot just stood there, glaring at me. _What the hell?_

"You know," she started, pure venom dripping from every word. Her childish demeanor was gone, replaced by an even more hideous creature; a very pissed-off Maya. I wasn't intimidated, though; my axe was just a few feet from me, and I wouldn't mind using it on her. Hell, I _wanted _to use it on her! "You don't deserve Chase. He works so hard, and all you do is chop fucking trees!"

"At least, as his _lover_," I emphasize the word in her face, taunting her. "I wouldn't do nothing but eat everything and annoy him the way you would, _if_ you ever got the chance to be his lover..."

I smirked when her face turned bright red from frustration and anger; I got her there. Then she seemed to get an idea when she smiled in an almost sadistic way. "Well, at least I'm a _woman_. _I _can be a _real_ lover to him! And give him a child, which you'd never be able to do for him!"

I smirked even more at that. _Hah! Got you wrong there, bitch. _"Oh, you'll be surprised what I can do." Obviously not understanding my real meaning, she snorted,

"I don't _care _what you did to him! He was mine since I first met him! Everyone knew that! And then you waltz along and take him from me, you bastard!" she yelled, then lunged for me, despite being in her ugly puffy pink dress. She tried to wrap her tiny, soft hands around me neck, kicking and scratching me in her struggle.

But I didn't back down and let her do much. Adrenaline pumped in my veins, as it did when I got excited, and I knocked her off of me by punching her square in the jaw. She fell back with a gasp of pain, but was otherwise unfazed in her anger.

"You _bastard!"_ she screeched before lunging again. We both ended up wrestling, complete with slaps and scratching from Maya, punches, kicks, and that one slap I've always wanted to give her across the face from me. I was so into it that I hadn't realized someone was standing in the doorway until that voice reached my ears.

"What...?" I looked up as Maya scrambled away to see Chase standing in the doorway, looking shocked. Maya's gaze grew hopeful until she met the young chef's gaze. Then pure fury clouded her blue eyes.

"Chase! How can you just do this to me! I'll _never _forgive you, choosing another_ man_ instead of me! Don't you realize all that you're going to miss out on because of _this_!" she waved her hands, as if to exaggerate Chase and I. She then stomped, brushed the dust from her dress, and marched away, her nose in the air. But she didn't leave before adding softly, "_you'll regret your decision!"_

Once she was gone, I started shaking my head at her again, asking, "You never seriously liked her, did you?" Chase gave me a shocked look, as if the answer was as obvious as the scratches on my face.

"Of course not! She was a nuisance to not only me, but _everyone!_" Chase shouted, looking furious at me for just implying that he once liked the anti-Christ's daughter. I realized that he was getting angry again; he's had such a temper. So I tried to calm him by saying something… sweet.

"Well, she's not worth your valuable time, anyway. Hell, she's not worth _anyone's _time!" I added. A faint smile appeared on Chase's face as he nodded. Recognizing that he was calm again, I walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek before heading towards the kitchen.

"Well, how about we have dinner, hm?" I offered, opening the package, beginning to set the table. Chase looked suspiciously at the wine before sitting down in his seat.

"Luke… what made you suddenly break out the red wine?" he asked. I hesitated, wondering if he could see the sparkles in his drink.

"Uh… well, I thought this was supposed to be a romantic dinner. Wine's romantic, right? Or am I wrong?" I asked. Chase shrugged, taking a sip of the sparkly wine, nodding a little, as if he liked the taste.

"Sure. Now, let's eat." and so, I took the plates from the cabinet and served the food for Chase and I. Hell, I did owe him, right? Besides, maybe this'll get him in a relaxed… and willing… mood.

As we ate, we talked about simply random things; how work was going, making fun of Maya, etc. Chase seemed relaxed, so relaxed, in fact, that he finished the potion-wine in the matter of a few minutes, and was now on his third glass. I didn't even finish my first halfway!

"So… why haven't you brought up adoption yet? I was kind of expecting a whole persuasive essay… _again…. _I don't care if Kat helped you put it together, either, it wasn't persuasive enough," he added when I opened my mouth to protest. I sighed.

"Well… I've decided I don't want a child as much… well, let's not talk about this," I added as I downed the rest of my wine. Chase nodded, giving me a suspicious look again before picking up his empty plate and going to the sink. I watched as he walked over to the counter, his hips swaying seductively- though I doubt he was even conscious of it.

But that didn't stop me from getting up from my chair and sneaking up on him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing a kiss to his exposed neck. Chase gasped in surprise and dropped the plate he was holding. It fell on the counter, but thankfully didn't break.

"_Luke…_ What're you…" I kissed his cheek as he turned his head a little, trailing kisses until he turned enough for me to kiss him full-on the lips.

Chase turned in my arms after the second kiss, where I slipped my tongue in his mouth teasingly. He didn't hesitate as he kissed back, locking his hands behind my neck to show he accepted the kiss. _And the suggestion…_

I reached down as we kissed again and gripped the back of his thighs, lifting his up so he had to lock his ankles at my waist. I slowly carried him like that as we kissed to the bedroom, first backing up, then quickly going to the bedroom, trying my best not to disturb the kiss and his passion. If it got ruined, I'd never be able to bed him … and get the child….

"Chase… you wanna…?" I breathed, watching him closely as I put him down on the bed. He nodded slightly as we started kissing again.

_He didn't know what he just agreed to…

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_**Well, hope you like it, and please review... just don't be too hard on me...!**_

_**Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, this is not going to be rated M, no matter how much I want it to be. :P  
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	3. And the Sickness Begins

**Hey! This is actually **_**Kat, **_**from Harvest Boys, Nicole would be writing to you in this author's note, but she had to go home…I'm sad. Anyway, this chapter there are actually sections that I wrote! We took turns. :D I wrote the first part that's all cute down here in the beginning, then at 'A few weeks later,' Nicole took over. I also wrote the very end and some random passage/s in the middle.**

**Nicole: "Btw, Kat I got your reviews...but don't you think you could have used your solo account instead of make it look like we were reviewing our own story?"**

**Kat: "Well...sorry. :("  
**

The next morning there was a thick line of bright yellow sun shine reflecting off the wall from the space between the curtains on the window in our bedroom when I woke up. There was such a feeling in the room that made me replay last nights events in my head for a moment or two…or ten as I looked down at Chase's sleeping form. His chest was gently rising and falling below the sheets, he looked so calm and serene that I felt I wanted to lay and watch him for an eternity. Chase had an almost feminine look on his face as he laid beside me, one of his arms wrapped around mine and the top of his head resting against my shoulder. The top of the clean white sheets just barely brushing up against the bottom of his chin as he sighed in his sleep and rolled even closer towards me…if that was even possible.

I didn't want to disturb him, so I laid motionlessly until I felt him stirring too much to be asleep. He disentangled his arm from mine before slipping out of bed, forgetting not to do such a thing after last nights' activities. I wasn't able to notify him in time as I heard his legs give out beneath him, and him land on the floor with a small, 'thud.' I then climbed off of my side of the bed before rushing over to his side in order to help him up. I wasn't surprised to see that he was simply sitting on the ground, looking extremely pissed off, waiting for me to come help him. When I helped him up I even carried him back to the bed and pulled the covers over his lap.

I couldn't have him walking about and falling down…especially if last night he did…_conceive_.

Well, we'd just have to wait and see, right!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_a few weeks later_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was exactly 4 a.m. on a regular night when I suddenly felt the bed rise as weight was removed from it, followed by the sound of feet padding on the floor in a quick pilgrimage to the bathroom. However, this was no longer an unusual occasion; for days now, Chase would wake at crazy hours to puke, but he'd refuse to go to the clinic, no matter how much I tried to persuade him. I was beginning to think of getting Kat's help with an essay again. … but this time, more persuasive, as Chase said.

I quickly got up from my side of the bed and followed in his footsteps towards the bathroom so I could help him in any way possible. I found him already kneeling in front of the toilet, puking up his dinner. I could tell just by looking at him in that moment that his body was beginning to get frailer; it was obvious he was losing a lot of weight.

"Chase, is there anything…?" "Go away!" he snapped, then started puking again. I sighed, lingering in the doorway uncertainly, wanting to help him, noticing that his irritableness must be due to mood swings. It's now obvious that Chase had conceived… now all I have to do is get him to go to the clinic to prove it.

"Chase, do you want to go to the clinic? I'm sure Irene is there…" I offered. Chase shook his head, groaning.

"N-no… I'm fine!" he insisted. I sighed.

"Chase! This is really beginning to get serious… are you sure? There could be something wrong with you!" I added worriedly, even though I already knew what it was. After a moment, where Chase ended up gagging, since there was probably nothing left in his stomach to puke up, he sighed and flushed the toilet.

"F-fine…" "Alright! Let's gooo!" I exclaimed, taking his hand and dragging him out the bathroom. Chase struggled to get out of my grip, but I didn't let him go until he exclaimed, by the door, "At least let me brush my teeth!"

I waited impatiently as he brushed his teeth, then used mouthwash. As he spit it out, I groaned irritably. "Come _on!_" I exclaimed, then continued to drag him to the clinic, Chase reluctantly following.

We headed straight for the clinic, standing outside the door. Chase sighed. "There's no one here, let's go," he started when the door opened, a very tired-looking Jin coming out, looking surprised to see us.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, suddenly alert. I nodded as Chase sighed. "Well?"

"Chase has been getting sick lately, just a few minutes ago was the fifth time in a row he's had to get up in the middle of the night to puke! Not to mention that Colleen told me that he's been puking during work, too! Can you check to see if something's wrong with him?" I asked. Jin sighed exhaustedly before nodding and turning back towards the door, Chase and I just behind him.

I got bored as Jin gave chase a quick check-up; none of which had to do with the pregnancy. I only paid attention when I heard him say, "I don't know what the cause could be… maybe I should call Irene…"

Chase looked terrified at that point; I was the complete opposite, though I made sure to keep it hidden. I waited with Chase as Jin called Irene. He didn't give much details, only saying, "Chase and Luke are here. There's something wrong with Chase, but I don't know if… can you come over earlier to see what's wrong?"

A few minutes after Jin hung up, the door opened and Irene came in. She came over and studied Chase, making him feel uncomfortable. Then, she suddenly nodded to Jin, and they both left abruptly to a separate room.

I saw Chase move toward the door to listen in on their conversation, but I didn't follow him or move to stop him. All Chase heard when he began to listen in was:

"I know, Irene…but I didn't want to make the assumption. You and I know just a well that Luke and Chase are _both _boys."

"Yes, but all his symptoms point to it…The weight loss since his last check-up, the frail appearance, the puking, the mood swings that Luke told us about…" She nodded, "We'll have to do a test on him…perhaps…and ultrasound?"

Chase moved away from the doorway looking completely terrified of what was about to take place, though he could only guess what they were hinting at. I didn't have to guess, but I couldn't help but smile as I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, murmuring comfort into his ear. "At least you don't have to get a shot…!" Chase just sighed and nodded.

After around twenty minutes, Irene and Jin came back into the room and gave the couple the news that they were going to give Chase a pregnancy test. Chase immediately started protesting, saying that it was impossible for him to be pregnant. "I'm a _guy!_ I can't get pregnant!"

"We know, Chase, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Irene explained gently. Chase shook his head and sat back down, obviously thinking hard about it.

Finally, he nodded his head and sighed. "I guess we can try it… but only to prove you guys wrong," he added stubbornly.

As soon as Irene heard Chase agree to take the test, she headed over to a cabinet over to the far side of the room and began to shuffle through the supplies. Soon enough, she took out four or five long, rectangular boxes that were labeled as "pregnancy test." She then returns to the small group of people and began to open a few of them.

When she got them open, she pulled out a few small devices with rectangular screens on them. She handed them to Chase and told him to follow her as she turned and walked towards the back of the clinic. He followed wordlessly and I was left sitting with Jin standing in front of me, hoping that he wouldn't try and strike up a conversation.

My luck that day didn't go as far as I hoped it might, "So…" Jin began awkwardly, "You and Chase are…happy?" I looked at him questioningly as if to ask what would ever make him think Chase and I weren't. Of course we were!

When he didn't get my hint I decided to be blunt. "Duh."

He nodded his head, and for the next ten minutes we sat in silence before Irene and Chase reappeared from the back the clinic. Chase was acting even stranger, his eyes were downcast, and he was glancing at me at random intervals. He seemed like he was thinking very hard again, and he also looked seriously worried.

Just then though, a very frantic and very upset Kat Manson barged through the door of the clinic, dragging a very unconscious fashionista behind her. Julius was bleeding from the side of his head, and it was obviously the blood loss which caused him to pass out. Kat's short walnut brown hair was tangled and messy due to her scrambling to the clinic in a hurry, and her bright blue eyes were searching around the clinic for the doctors before bringing Julius into the back room when she saw the light there. As she passed me I heard her murmur, "Good for nothing albino."

Jin quickly followed them toward the beds in the back while Irene stared and stood completely still for a few moments. She then turned back to Chase and I. I was waiting impatiently for her to tell me what I wanted and knew I was going to hear. Chase though, actually looked ashamed of himself-and I wondered why. Chase thought that Irene smiling at him was, 'her having the nerve to smile at him,' but I knew that if I were in her place, I'd be grinning just as wide if not wider. "Chase is…pregnant," as she said this, Chase's head fell even lower until it was in his lap, "Four weeks. It's still too early for an ultrasound now, but since you're a boy I think it would be safe to have an early ultrasound. Let's schedule one for…two weeks from now?"

None of us said anything and Irene's question remained unanswered. Just then we heard a conversation between Kat and Jin.

"So Kat, how did if happen this time…?"

"It surprisingly…wasn't my fault this time."

"Really?" He sounded very sarcastic, as if questioning Kat's honesty level.

"Serious! And Juli's not conscious enough to disagree with me this time either!" For a moment it sounded as if she was completely desperate for Jin to believe her. To change the subject quickly, she asked: "So why are Luke and Chase here?"

"I believe that Irene just confirmed our suspicion that Chase is somehow pregnant."

"Really! Well, it's obviously Luke's…," She then decided to congratulate us even though she was all the way in the back, by screaming: "Congrats, you two! I Hope it's a girl!"

Chase coughed into his lap and he finally murmured, "I have a headache now…great…"

Irene was still writing something on a pad in her hand, "That's another normal symptom of pregnancy…"

Chase suddenly turned his head toward me, "I'm sorry."

"Um…do you not remember my hours of pleading you to agree to adopt? And plus-" I stopped myself before I could say something I didn't mean too.

Chase shot a suspicious look at me, "And plus what?"

I had to cover up my mistake quickly before Chase realized I had to have had something to do with his ability to conceive, "And plus…This way the child's actually ours."


	4. Break a Leg!  Not Literally!

**Kat: Well-this chapter shall be in Chase's point of view! Muahahaha!**

**Nicole: KAT!**

**Kat: Yeah, sorry-no laughing maniacally…**

**Nicole: Yeah…**

**Kat: BRING OUT THE CHAPTER!**

**Nicole: No, you have an author's note to write.**

**A/N: Hi! This is actually Kat instead of Nicole…we sort of switched places this chapter. While she usually writes the majority of **_**Baby Wars **_**and I give ideas and things, and write my own one shots and things(**_**Precious**_** and **_**Purely for Laughs**_**), this time it was the opposite while Nicole had been working on **_**Drink 'Til you Drop. **_**So this one is probably written a bit differently then the other chapters in most areas. And sorry that this chapter comes so late…Nicole and I have been quite busy at the moment. We had midterm exams…and we weren't used to the way they did that up at the high school. Long story short, we had some time management issues…mostly on my part…but hey, I made high honors for it! : ) (Plus, this is the longest chapter so far! Thank you to the reviewers! Virtual cookies for everyone! xD**

**Enjoy.**

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When Luke and I got home it was still early in the morning-though not as early as it had been…I went right to bed when we got home. I had work later that day and I had to have energy, I planned to sleep until the early afternoon and be up in time for work. When Luke heard this he actually asked me why I was still going to work, that the gossip would have spread far enough by then for them not to expect me. My reply was of course that as far as I knew about pregnancy, I wasn't far enough to miss work because of it. Therefore, after sleeping until two in the after noon, I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed and dressed in my usual attire-knowing that with the weight loss they were beginning to hang on me.

"So…You're really going to spend the rest of your day in front of a hot dangerous stove-with my baby in your womb…wow…" Luke muttered; he was still sitting cross-legged on his side of the bed. I swiftly spun around and launched my pillow at him, grumbling 'what womb?' beneath my breath. It hit him in the face and he pouted, "Well, I was only thinking about the safety of our child…and when I read you my persuasive essay, you had the guts to say that I'D be too immature for a child…"

"Luke!" I screamed it, I was serious- "I am seriously going to work, and you should get to work too. I expect your dad will be waiting for you, since you haven't been showing up for the last few days anyway…"

He scowled at the mention of his father and pouted, "I won't be able to stop thinking about you if you go to work, and if we're at the stage of building something that requires complete and total focus-it'll be my fault that we'll end up failing and someone will inevitably die…" He crossed his arms and looked away from me playfully with his eyes closed.

"Please stop that," Even I realized how I'd gone from rude and defiant to calm and collected so quickly, "I doubt I'll get hurt…and if I do…I'll even let you say 'I told you so.'" I tried to bribe him then-to get him to agree. He stared at me long and hard for a moment before smiling and giving in, shaking his head and getting off the bed to head toward the kitchen. I sighed at my reflection in the mirror before following him into the next room and deciding to fix something for lunch.

As I passed him I realized that while he was smiling at me as he always does, he wasn't smiling at me sweetly-he was smiling at my stomach alone. I felt burned for a moment as I reached the stove, took out some pans and headed to the fridge to grab some fresh ingredients. When I headed back toward the counters, I paused and addressed Luke. "You say you're worried about the baby…and that's supposed to be normal…but…you almost seem to be forgetting me…" My head was still spinning for my sudden mood swings this afternoon.

He looked up from my stomach where they'd been this entire time and he looked at my face finally, "No…I was just still thinking about you going to work and how I wasn't sure that I should have given in, and I guess I spaced out and my eyes just kind of followed what they'd been on." He smiled at me before getting up and hugging me from behind-I wasn't expecting it because I'd still been turned towards the stove.

"I already promised not to let myself be harmed, remember?" I asked as he kissed the top of my head, "I promise we'll both come back in one piece."

I feel him smiling against my hair. It was a relaxing, calm feeling- "I know, but I just want to warn you of this: I would feel better if you stayed at least about…10 feet from Maya at all times. Be aware of what she's doing around, and be suspicious of any strange move…she'll probably have heard about your passenger by now…" He grinned wider, "That is…if Kat told Julius about what she found out while he was unconscious yet…"

I couldn't help but smile at that too, it was obvious since Kat and Julius started dating that you couldn't let anything slip to Kat anymore because she'd tell Juli-and Juli caused gossip to spread like wildfire. Still, because of Luke's warnings of Maya I was reminded of her fight with Luke a few weeks ago and how it wasn't the first time she'd gotten violent because of my relationship with Luke…the first time she'd attacked Luke was when she first found out he and I were dating. I assumed it was just the initial shock of finding out… But she attacked him two times after that-three times in total because of her latest attack; but I knew Luke could handle it. He was a grown man who got a good work out of chopping down trees and such each day, she was a child in a weak adult's body.

Still-here was a thought…_what if _she would be willing to get violent with _me_ because of the child in my stomach? I may be a man, but I'm a man who cooked all his life-I'm just thin because of the extreme care I take in deciding which foods to eat…and if I'm too nervous or weakened because of the pregnancy…_what if she did damage_! My eyes widened as I realized that with me in this state, she easily could.

"I promise I'll keep my distance from her." Where did my old spiteful sarcasm go?

"Good, now let's get doing with our days, shall we?" He smiled and removed his arms from my waist and headed for the door, pausing to add, "You don't need to make me lunch today, I'll just get going. You be careful!" He winked on his way out, leaving me thinking, _'What the hell was that wink for?'_

I shook my head as I decided I wasn't even in the mood to eat right now, so I went back to fridge and put the ingredients I'd grabbed back into it. I had hours before I needed to go to work still, so I sat at the kitchen table and looked through an old magazine I had sitting around.

It was frivolous for me to spend my time this way, I knew. It was boring, uninteresting, and stupid-but I didn't seem to have enough energy for anything else.

It was three thirty by the time I was done flipping through pages looking at random articles and pictures, so I decided to play my flute for the remainder of my wait. On a usual day I'd walk around in Waffle town and Town Square, but since I have a baby now I doubt I'll be able to do that very often. By the time four fifteen rolled by and I had to leave so that I could get the bar by five, I was feeling sort of empty. So I ate an orange before I left.

When I actually left the house it was about four thirty and I was rushing toward the Inn in an effort to get there when I need to. As I passed I got several nervous, suspicious, curious looks from the other residents that were on the same path as me. I knew that they weren't staring at me because I was rushing. They were told. They knew I was somehow fertile.

By the time I reached the inn I had received so many stares that I was red in the face with embarrassment. Though I wasn't hesitant to pull the doors to the Inn open and head straight to the kitchen to prepare for the bar to open in an hour. Turning towards that stove, I heard Colleen locking the Inn doors for the small intermission between the Inn and bar hours. I began to take out the large pot that I always needed before pausing for a few minutes to clean off some food that the person who'd cleaned it-Maya-had failed to remove. That was of course until I heard suspicious snickering behind me. I looked up and turned around to see Maya in the passage way to the kitchen.

She giggled again before her eyes slid down to my stomach and she scowled, "Juli says you're carrying…a child. I'm not too sure that I should believe him, after all, you and Luke are both boys…but you have that pregnant glow to you." She scowled even harder as she bit her bottom lip so hard I could see from over there that it would split with only a tiny pressure increase. "You really should get rid of that thing, after all-It is…_Luke's_…" She said my lover's name with such venom it made me sick. But it also made me suddenly prideful that I was carrying the baby that she automatically wanted to hate, it made me no longer ashamed for becoming pregnant.

I scowled at her face alone, "You know what? I don't care what you think of my carrying Luke's child, I'm glad to be having a child with him," I grinned when she furrowed her brows in sudden frustration, "I mean, at least it's better than having a child with you would be…" I taunted her, feeling like my old defiant self again. All I had left to do was call her a bitch and I'd be back to my former glory. Still, I held the pot in front of myself-remembering my early thoughts of her probably being able to hurt me if she decided to.

"What do you mean by that!" She screamed at me and stomped her foot, instantly gaining her parent's attention from across the room; "I could be ten times better to you then he could ever be, but you continue to tell me that he's what's right for you when I know it isn't true!" I swear I felt a breeze rushing toward my face as she continued to scream, "And I keep trying to make you come to your senses and give it up, but you and Luke try to silence me by defeating and disagreeing with my points!" Now her parents where coming up behind her trying to get her to calm down and stop yelling, "I'm tired of being ignored!" She looked at me icily. "You _will_ be mine." And she lunged toward me.

I raised the pot to try and defend myself and closed my eyes really hard. Still, nothing happened-then I heard Maya struggling and I opened by eyes to see that Colleen, Jake, and Yolanda had grabbed her from behind and were holding her back. I hadn't remembered seeing Yolanda there a few seconds before Maya had lunged, so I wondered how she'd gotten there so soon. "Honestly, Maya? I disappear upstairs for ten minutes and I come down to find you attacking my protégé? Especially when he's with child…!"

She roughly pulled herself free from their grasp and dusted off her dress in the annoying way she always did, "Don't remind me!" She pouted and stomped off up the stairs; she entered her room and slammed the door after her. That still didn't stop us from hearing all the way down here: her jumping onto her bed angrily and beginning to cry against the pillow…did I say cry? I meant to say _wail_. I didn't feel even a tiny bit sorry.

"We're sorry Chase…" Colleen began, "Maya just liked you so much…and she seemed to have created the image in her mind of raising a happy family with you-so now she thinks that it has to become reality… As hard as it is for us to see our daughter this upset, we know we need to respect your decisions." Colleen was looking at me sadly before turning around and walking back to the desk.

I sighed and turned back to the sink, finishing in my earlier tasks. I heard Colleen opening the front door and turning on the sign that said that the Sundae Inn was open. As soon as the neon sign was lit up, the sound of footsteps heading into the kitchen instantly alerted me of someone approaching. Startled, I spun around, clutching the kitchen knife tightly, afraid that Maya had come back. But standing in the doorway was a very worried-looking Luke.

However, I did see a very angry-looking Maya glaring at him from across the room. Wanting to torment her, I quickly walked over to Luke, wrapped my arms around his neck, and even went so far as to lean my forehead on the nape of his neck. I could've sworn I heard Maya growl.

"Hey, Chasey."

"Hey."

"I was at work today with my dad…and well…I found out that no one bothered to tell him about the baby… So we get to tell him ourselves!" Luke was almost bursting with excitement. I could see it clouding his face. He tightened his arms around my waist, "I want you to come with me to work tomorrow…"

I blushed against his shirt, "What about…the baby?"

"You just have to be careful, you won't be working-you'll just be there with me." he added. I stared up at him for a moment, then shook my head.

"Why would I…? Never mind," I added quickly. I could feel Maya's gaze burning into the back of my head, beginning to feel uncomfortable.

Luke leaned away from me, "I'm gonna have to get going now, I'm going home-I'll stay up and make sure you get home safely though." He reassured me before leaning down and capturing my lips. All I heard was Maya shrieking in the back ground before I blanked out and felt my back slam against the tiled floors of the kitchen. When I opened my eyes Luke was against the wall and Maya was still screaming between us, her parents and Yolanda turned into the kitchen and gasped when they saw me on the ground.

Jake and Colleen helped me up while Yolanda tried to silence her granddaughter. Several customers who had already entered the bar were gawking at the scene in front of them, making it obvious that they were bewildered by Maya's behavior. I even earned pitying glances from a few of them as they cleared out. When Luke realized what had happened to me, even he started to scream and ran to me-he was saying something about me having to go to the clinic because I was pregnant. I didn't know about that-I once heard that the 'falling for a miscarriage' thing was a myth and that to truly hurt your baby in a fall you had to severely injured yourself…I felt perfectly fine.

Luke said that he'd feel better if I went to the clinic anyway, so I said that I had work and couldn't, "Maybe you should just go home since your work is done here then?" I questioned.

"Maybe I should stay now because it's my unborn baby that's in danger here?"

"It isn't in _any _danger Luke, it's just in your head." I pointed out, "You don't have to be a worry wart." I pushed him toward the exit to the inn, "Go home, the baby's fine!" He went, although reluctantly. Once he was gone I went back to what I was doing before he appeared, until I suddenly heard Yolanda and Maya whispering about me across the room. As Maya got more and more upset, her voice got louder though.

"But you have to understand Maya, if he doesn't love you, he doesn't love you!" Yolanda was whispering sternly to her grand daughter.

"I know…but I want him to grow to love me, I know he will…he _has _to!"

"No Maya, he already has someone in his life. He won't be yours as long as he has Luke-and even if he didn't, I'm pretty sure he'd still avoid you." She added, so that Maya wouldn't get the idea in her head of making Luke go away-not knowing that Maya'd already imagined poisoning him several times. I shook my head in agreeance, even though they couldn't see me. It was true, I loved Luke-and even if I didn't have him I would _never marry that evil little spoiled brat._

"_But Grandma, I LOVE HIM!_" She pouted, and I heard her stomp her foot on the wood floor. I leaned over enough to see her shaking her head angrily, "When I see him with Luke I want to kill someone! I know what I did was bad with his condition…but I couldn't help it. Knowing that they kiss and stuff when they're alone is different then actually seeing them kiss in front of me." She squinted her eyes at the floor and her mouth became a straight line. Her grandmother seemed to sympathize with her, in the silence I walked out of the kitchen and waited for them to notice me there.

"Chase," Yolanda began first, "Luke went home, right? I'm sure he'll be waiting for you. I think you should leave for the day." She had smiled at me but then it faded, "Don't be too hard on him for being over protective, it just shows how much he loves you." Maya growled in the background, "And he probably doesn't truly understand how all of this going on at the same time must feel for you."

I nodded my head before wordlessly exiting the Inn and entering the dimness of a Waffle Island sunset. It was chilly due to the fact that the fall was here anyway, and that didn't help very much. I could already feel my teeth clicking against each other in my mouth because of the intense cold; I pulled my sleeves as far down as I could. That was one perk that came with the black shirt I wore in the fall and the winter-the longer sleeves. As I continued up the trail into Maple Lake District I could see the house coming into view.

When I entered the house, Luke was sitting by the kitchen table.

He looked upset when I looked over his shoulder. Just as I thought that though, he saw me and his expression softened immensely. He seemed happy to see that I was okay.

"Hey, Chase…" he began; why did I sense another speech coming? "I see they told you to leave today?"

I nodded, "Yolanda and Maya were talking before Yolanda sent me home too. Maya…still really thinks she's in love with me, and she thinks…I'll eventually cave and leave you for her…she's…really dumb…" I pointed it out, as though it wasn't painfully obvious.

Luke smiled, "Yes, she is."

"How are we going to break it to your dad?"

"I was…going to improvise…"

I scowled at him for a second, "Well," He turned around and headed into the bedroom, "I'm beat. Goodnight."

"G'Night, Chase!"

Luke waited until he heard me settle down on the bed, "Oh...and Chase?"

"Yes, Luke?"

"I told you so."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will come...eventually. (Just kidding, I'll get right on it)**


	5. The IN LAW

**Hey guys, Kat here!**

**So sorry for the super long hiatus guys, it's just that as two freshman in high school, time truly gets away from us due to research papers, essays, and other work we need to do. I'm so sorry that we didn't update for so long, but I had some really bad times where I really broke down and although I've gotten good grades for it, I was feeling really terrible this school year and I've had a lot of saddening things going on not only to me but to people I love as well. I'm here now though, and I'm hoping to update a lot more over the summer, and once again, I am terribly sorry for the hiatus.**

It was an uneventful morning as usual as Chase simply wondered around the kitchen a bit, occasionally taking out his flute and playing a few notes here and there. He was a bit bored. Luke was still snoozing in their bedroom, Chase would sometimes hear him shuffle beneath the blankets, sometimes mutter a word in his sleep, or even scream, 'It wasn't me!' That last one caused Chase's eyebrow to raise slightly before he got to making breakfast for them both. He knew anything with spinach or mayonnaise would satisfy Luke, so he just decided to do some experimentation…

Luke woke to the smell of spinach and pancakes…an unlikely pair? He didn't care to ask himself as he stretched, hearing his back crack before he swung his legs over the side of the bed and headed for the dresser. He felt like it was a lazy morning, and he struggled to keep his eyes open as he pulled on his regular attire. He exited the room and sat at the kitchen table, watching Chase cook, as always.

Luke didn't bother looking in the pans to see where the smell of spinach was coming from, he was perfectly content to hum at the table, watch Chase, and enjoy it. Soon Chase was finishing up the food and taking out plates and setting them on the counter. Chase began to serve a portion of food onto each plate, Luke looked up in content again, he wasn't suspicious until he saw Chase begin to take out the mayonnaise. He put a small amount of Mayonnaise on his own plate before moving over a bit and _piling _it on to Luke's plate. He smirked before setting the plates down at the table and taking seat across from Luke.

Luke looked down at his plate to see spinach pancakes with mayonnaise…his Chase never failed to amaze him. He began to gobble them down greedily before grinning at his significant other and getting up from the table to bring his dish to the sink. Chase was still lagging behind, his pancakes only partially eaten. Unfortunately for him, Luke was already bouncing with excitement to tell his dad their big news. "And we're gunna march right up there and tell 'im and Bo!" He was so excited he was slurring his words together now. Chase thought that Luke might blow a gasket if they waited any longer, so he decided not to finish his whole breakfast, putting the rest in their refrigerator for later.

On the walk up to the carpenter's store, Luke insisted that they hold hands. Then he insisted that Chase let him swing their arms. Then he insisted that Chase walk _around _a _puddle. _The he wouldn't let Chase walk up the hill with out leaning on him. Chase was a bit worn out just by the short walk there, but soon he and Luke entered the Carpenter's and where met by Dale's familiar face. Luke raced over to the counter and left Chase to stand silently in the doorway for a moment. He realized that he hadn't been in that building since he and Luke were dating. This thought made him look down to a certain finger on his left hand…one _occupied _finger.

He smiled to himself, then remembered a little orange-haired brat that tried to crash it…

Dale looked up to his son, "Well," He cleared his throat and smiled a bit too widely, "You're here early Luke…" Chase swore he heard Dale mutter under his breath, 'I should be more surprised that you're here at all.' Then, as if Dale had just noticed Chase's presence, "Hey Chase…what are you doing just standing there looking like a frightened mouse?" At this Chase suddenly scowled, which caused Dale to swallow a bit…he wasn't always that…_comfortable _with his son in law…He almost sighed when Chase simply walked up to stand beside Luke and then calmed down again. He'd been scared for a second there.

"So Luke! Do you mind explaining to me what's been keeping you from getting to work these days?" He said in faked curiosity, trying to not to let his eyes immediately wander to Chase accusingly.

Un fortunately for him, Chase noticed.

"What makes you automatically think that this has something to do with me!" Chase huffed and glared darkly.

"Well…it's just that when you and Luke were dating…"

Chase interrupted him, "Don't mention it!" He turned away from the man and headed toward the window, looking out ant trying not to seem too upset. He was just feeling so emotional because of what was going on lately, and the last thing Chase wanted was to seem weak. So he just stood there for a minute, trying to keep his back from shaking and his mouth closed. He was emotional, damn it…with everything going on, he was perfectly justified to cry. He just couldn't believe that Dale would bring _that _up again…

It was one of the reasons that Dale and Chase didn't get along too well…it seemed that Dale had decided that Chase was a brat who'd always want Luke's attention… for the wrong reasons. This wasn't true, Chase had no idea that some of the times that Luke came to visit him at the Inn, Luke was supposed to be working. Of course, Dale always knew where Luke had gone, and disliked Chase for distracting him.

Eventually Dale confronted the two, and Chase felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

Luke was going to walk over to Chase, but when Dale saw him about to, he struck up a conversation, "So you're here now, that's good!"

Chase scowled and pouted at the fact that they were both ignoring him now. He didn't need to cry anymore, so he just looked around and tuned out of their conversation. He wondered on that side of the room and when he saw one of Bo's projects, he sat his hand on the table beside it-when he took his hand off of it, how ever, he saw a bit of wood stuck in his finger. "Ow." he muttered, quietly. Luke, who was completely conscious of Chase the entire time, was wary enough to hear it.

He ran to Chase, "Who did it!" He screamed, "Was it _you?" _He asked Bo, who had been quietly working from the other side of the table while being pointed at accusingly.

"No…" Bo told him, "It was the table."

"Sure it was, Bo….Sure it was…" Luke muttered to him, eyes narrowing as he turned toward Chase and grabbed his finger. "WE NEED THE FIRST FRICKING AID KIT!" He was slurring his words together again too.

Chase hastily snatched his hand away and started picking at his own splinter… "Why don't you tell your dad what you came here to tell him!" He pouted again while trying to keep his eyes on his splinter as a distraction.

At mention of what they'd come here to tell Dale, Luke immediately perked up.

"Okay then Dad, we're going to play a little guessing game with you and Bo!" He gave his million dollar grin, "You've got to guess what our amazing news is," He paused as Chase elbowed him in the gut, "It's something AMAZING, AWESOME-SAUCE WITH PINEAPPLES." Chase stared at him with a 'what the hell are you talking about, we never agreed on this' face.

"Um-" Bo started, "You're….wearing a new shirt?"

"NO!" Luke shouted.

"Okay, you're…" Dale started to talk but was cut off by Luke.

"I CAN'T HOLD IT IN ANY LONGER! CHASE AND I ARE HAVING A BABY! HUZZAH!"

"How?" Bo asked.

"Chase is pregnant!" Luke grinned.

'Wha... Chase, baby, pregnant..." with that, his eyes rolled back in his head as Dale fell backwards, fainting. Chase started at the fallen carpenter before glancing at Luke. He was staring numbly at his father, as if he hadn't thought that would happen.

After a moment, Luke glanced up. "Weeelll... that went better than I expected."

Chase spared a glance toward Bo to see him staring not even at the fallen Dale, but at Chase in complete amazement. Chase hesitant stepped over Dale's fallen lump and headed toward the door, "I think I'll be getting home, you should stay here and deal with your-" he glanced over his shoulder at Dale, "Uh….lump." And with that he was gone.

"Dead body!" Somebody screamed from the door and ran away. Chase didn't catch their face.

Chase shook his head as he walked away.

**Okay, so I understand that it's shorter then a lot of my other chapters, it's just that the last few paragraphs were written after months of absence, and over that time, my spirit has really died, and I feel like I'm hoping summer will really help me recapture what I had before. Please share thoughts…and maybe even spread a bit of encouragement…please? I will hopefully post a longer chapter some time soon.**


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